The result: Serious hackers will keep finding new ways to break in. Less technically inclined may well find themselves chastened into technological submission, assuming they can get their pricey toys to work at all. Will Apple really refuse to help people with iBricks?

Speaking in London last week, Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said the company is in a “cat and mouse” game with hackers.

“People will try to break in, and it’s our job to stop them breaking in,” he said.

David Pogue, our technology reviewer, received a cautionary message Wednesday night from a person familiar with Apple’s plans after he posted a video showing some unofficial, but entertaining, applications that can be installed on the iPhone. Take those applications off your phones now, David was warned, or a software update scheduled for Thursday afternoon could turn your phone into a brick. [David takes a closer look at the iPhone update here.]

On Monday, Apple had issued a press release warning of “irreparable damage” to iPhones that have been modified or unlocked from the AT&T network. It also threatened users that “the permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone’s warranty.”

This caused a scurry by hackers to develop software that will relock iPhones before software updates. It’s like kids at the slumber party turning out the lights and jumping under the covers each time mom thumps up the stairs.

Apple may well be justified using tough tactics against people who modify their phones so they no longer use the AT&T network. Apple stands to receive several hundred dollars for each phone over the course of two years from AT&T’s service fees.

Some people—actually a lot of people—don’t much like AT&T. Or they don’t want to pay AT&T’s roaming fees overseas and would rather use a local cellular company. And these people will always be looking for ways to defeat Apple’s locking system. The simple way to defuse this fight, of course, would simply be for Apple to sell an unlocked iPhone for, say, $300 more than the locked version.

But this gets at Apple’s propensity for control. The phone is, in some ways, a better experience on AT&T because of its links to voice mail and so on. But does that mean if Apple’s way is better it should always prevent people from using its products in some less optimal way?

Since the iPhone is a very sleek, capable handheld computer, people are going to want to run programs on it. They are going to want to hack and see what they can build. It’s a law of nature. And Apple might as well be fighting gravity.

Many other cell phones are locked down, of course. But few other phones capture the imagination of programmers the way the iPhone does.

Apple did allow for some application development inside its Safari browser. But it is not supporting Java or Flash, the two environments that allow the most flexible applications. And there is no official way to write applications that run on the phone’s operating system. Apple has said that it is worried that some applications could cause trouble for the AT&T network. But it’s hard to imagine that there isn’t a way to wall off and limit network usage without preventing people from developing well-mannered programs.

Apple essentially has two choices. Either it exposes most of the iPhone’s capabilities to developers. Or it will have to gird for an ever escalating war in which it will have to send ever more electronic brick-bombs to its best customers who don’t follow its strict rules.

Despite it’s name, the iPhone is more mobile pocket computer than it is a Phone. Steve Jobs’ only major marketing mistake with this product is his failure to appreciate that the user community would perceive this device to be more computer than Phone and would then immediately start attacking the “walled garden”. Steve and Apple have made a major blunder here and unless they release their denial and face the truth of the situation, some group like the iPhoneDevTeam will likely incorporate and start selling support and software upgrades for the iPhone as an alternative to Apple.

Funny how things change as you get older. A much younger Jobs and Woz made a little bundle selling “blue boxes” that hacked AT&T’s phone network. Now, Jobs has a whole new attitude. Or is it greed? I think a little self-examination is in order.

“Apple may well be justified using tough tactics against people who modify their phones so they no longer use the AT&T network.”

IT’S NOT APPLE’S PHONE, IT’S MINE!” I paid $499 for it. I’m soooo done with these guys. After years of being their biggest fan and advocate, I just can’t take this, or the lack of support for my iTunes problems and on and on.

Secondly, in your last sentence, “Or it (Apple) will have to gird for an ever escalating war in which it will have to send ever more electronic brick-bombs to its best customers who don’t follow its strict rules,” you described those who want to “break into” the iPhone and cause Apple to loose revenue as “….its best customers.” How in the world can you describe this goup of hackers as “….its best customers?”

The iPhone is the greatest phone ever and apple made it.Again all the crying and the wining …IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE iPHONE don’t buy one.If you have one be HAPPY!it is a great phone and the world will be not the same anymore after the iPhone so just learn to live with or without the iPhone…

The ability to have a real hand-held computer was the draw for me as well. If Apple kills the third-party apps (like terminal) then this is a no-go for me, and I will not make the planned purchase of an iPhone when my current carrier contract expires next month. Besides, this is the 21st century. The walled garden strategy is over, folks.

“Blunder”? “Self-examination”? “Just can’t take it”?
Please get a grip on yourselves, you over-entitled little children. Apple knows far more about how to market their products than you ever will, and they’re taking their marketing straight to the bank. They knew perfectly well there would be an army of hackers, and exactly how they would deal with them. Think your whining is making a dent in their universe? Don’t like them, don’t buy. Apple knows what most people will buy, and your whines are irrelevant to them.

great article. loved the kids sleep-over analogy – really puts this kind of stuff into perspective.
We’re all still waiting for the iPhone over here.

I really agree that users like us like to be able to customise our hardware and software, it’s one of the things that give a product strength and longetivity.

A great example of this is the Sony PSP and the similar war Sony have waged against hackers who are trying to stretch the capabilities of the PSP to wireless radio, enhanced browsing, etc. I guess the downside of hacking is that people can utilise these things for illegal means, but .. think about the VHS and bootleg tapes?
DVDs and burners? Computers and filesharing?

I am not sure whom Apple is targeting at, the hackers or the buyers. I can understand that if the war is targeted towards the hackers, they would want to make the next batch of iPhone very hard to hack. However, by damaging the iPhones that were already locked, Apple is really attacking those fans that were willing to pay extra money to use their product. The hackers already got the money and ran free with it. The Apple fan who paid extra to get Apple product that is damanged by Apple on purpose now seems silly, to even continue to be an Apple fan.

Lol, what dark side – you actin’ like theres an alternative to the iphone. Man, sit down and stop your crying. You’ve always been an apple fanboy and will continue to be one. 20 months from now all will be better and you be back on apples two big seeds. Here have a chair, “h” and be patient.

And here’s the funny thing – since it’s technology, someone will always be able to “hack” their way into the iPhone. So, choice number 2 – “to send ever more electronic brick-bombs” is really a losing proposition in which millions will be spent which could have been invested in putting together better technology that will utilize the potentials of the iphone without “wracking havoc” on AT&T network, as worried by Apple.

No joke, Ted. Considering that Apple got its start by building fully modifiable systems using off the shelf hardware, his comments are over the top. “Our job to stop them breaking in”. Please.

I don’t understand why anyone would want an iPhone. They are expensive. You can’t run anything on them. You’re married to AT&T. If you try to change that, they brick your phone and tell you to STFU, buy another one. I am pretty convinced that the only purpose of this update IS to destroy hacked phones.

The iPhone is just the latest in a series of ploys perpetrated by the cell carrier/manufacturer cabal. Look up the Neo 1973. I sincerely hope that the philosophy behind it will take root and exorcise the demons infesting the cell market in North America.

Well said, Ted. However, let’s give Jobs some time. He can’t very well reverse course immediately. He’s gotta talk this over with his staff and come up with an exit strategy. Assuming he sees the error of his ways.

There is only 1 winner in a service provider versus client war: the client. In Asia and Europe, phones are not tied to mobile phone operators precisely because customers demand that cross-border flexibility provided by using different telecommunications companies. We no longer live in a world defined by our country of residence. Our world is networked and crosses country borders on a regular basis. Steve seems to have forgotten this fact despite his many trips overseas. Maybe it’s because Apple pays for his roaming fees when he uses his phone outside the USA.

I find it both hypocritical and ironic that someone like Mr. Jobs would be against hacking the iPhone… after all, didn’t Apple get it’s start selling blue boxes? How is phone phreaking different any different than unlocking your cellphone? Has Steve forgotten his roots? Has he finally sold out?

Herein lies the real reason I would never by an Apple product. Locked in and locked up by the Apple logo. It’s the reason I buy white box PCs and load my own operating system. If I get dissatisfied with one OS I can load another and not end up with a brick. Steve Jobs would have you believe that you lease the phone from him instead of buying it and owning it. I am once again glad I have avoided Apple for my entire life. And will continue to do so.